- Published
"This is not the face of France!
asserted
This → publish → France
You media all focus on the violence and destruction of Saturday's protests.
asserted
media → focus → protests
Elisabeth was speaking to me in front of a row of smashed shop windows, shattered glass still littering the tree-lined Parisian street.
asserted
glass → speak → street
Its walls were daubed with red-lettered graffiti insulting French police and signed with the date of the riots, 17 October.
asserted
walls → daub → riots
I'd stopped her and her friend to ask what they thought of what happened on Saturday.
asserted
what → stop → Saturday
Elisabeth was so upset that, when she spoke, she seemed close to tears.
asserted
she → upset → tears
"My friend thinks this is civil war in France but I don't.
asserted
I → think → France
"
But what did happen exactly?
asserted
what → happen → ?
While much of the looting seemed opportunistic, the violence looked pre-planned.
asserted
violence → seem → looting
And who most stands to gain from the destruction this weekend?
asserted
who → stand → destruction
Different theories are doing the rounds - in and outside France.
asserted
theories → do → France
Black and white answers may be appealing, but the truth is there are many factors at play.
uncertain
truth → be → play
The president of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, has proposed a parliamentary inquiry into the riots and how they were organised.
asserted
they → propose → riots
French intelligence had briefed government circles earlier this month that left-wing anarchist groups were involved in the student protests.
asserted
groups → brief → protests
Their signature: a capital A, circled in black, was spray-painted on many buildings across France this weekend.
asserted
signature → circle → France
French media have played and replayed a video shot on Saturday showing groups of young men dressed in black, with a black folded kerchief around their face to hide their identity, apparently attacking a number of police vans with what look like large hammers or machetes.
asserted
what → play → hammers
A French intelligence report dated 29 September, published by Le Figaro newspaper, details the "manipulation" of student demonstrations by student unions and political movements aligned with the radical left.
asserted
report → date → left
It suggests the far-left political movement La France Insoumise (LFI) was relying on violence as an electoral strategy ahead of the 2027 presidential elections.
uncertain
movement → suggest → elections
The mass looting of what's said to be over 3,000 shops and businesses on Saturday appears to have been largely opportunistic, according to French reports.
uncertain
what → say → reports
Many youngsters immediately went online trying to sell their stolen wares, including designer trainers.
asserted
youngsters → go → trainers
Some didn't bother to cover their faces.
asserted
Some → bother → faces
Did they feel a sense of impunity?
asserted
they → feel → impunity
Online sales platforms now say they'll work with the French authorities to track down as many of the looters as possible.
asserted
they → say → looters
Police say they're examining CCTV and social media footage.
asserted
they → say → CCTV
President Macron insists all those responsible for violence or theft will be brought to justice.
asserted
those → insist → justice
Suggestions that some were encouraged to join in the violence by social media posts has lead former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal (a hopeful in France's upcoming presidential election) to call for selected social media blackouts to quell further violence.
asserted
Attal → encourage → violence
Belgium has also been experiencing violent protests these last days.
asserted
Belgium → experience → protests
On Tuesday, Belgium's Interior minister Bernard Quintin, warned of the 'TikTokisation' of violence.
asserted
minister → warn → violence
Footage of riots is widely shared on social media, reaching a large audience of impressionable young people, he said, while also blaming violence on the streets of Brussels and Liege on "known far left groups".
asserted
he → share → groups
In France, Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu and his Interior Minister Laurent Nunez have also clearly implicated the "hard left" in Saturday's mayhem - "pouring oil onto the fire," said Nunez.
asserted
Nunez → implicate → fire
On Tuesday Mr Lecornu spoke of "insurrections" planned by "small far-left and ultra-left groups".
asserted
Lecornu → speak → groups
Previously he'd accused the "far left" of weaponising student demos.
asserted
he → accuse → demos
It's something anti-capitalist LFI leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who also hopes to become French president, has vehemently denied.
asserted
who → hop → ?
Mélonchon took part in Saturday's planned protest.
asserted
Mélonchon → take → protest
Politicians from his LFI movement have been present at the student demonstrations since they started a month ago in the socially deprived outskirts of Paris, with demands for better state education for all.
asserted
they → start → all
What do the students say?
asserted
students → say → What
In Saint-Denis suburb on Monday, I met Lisa Cordat, of the FSE student union.
asserted
I → meet → union
She told me that students organised themselves for demos via social media messaging or through student-led organisations.
asserted
students → tell → organisations
She said it was "insulting" to suggest they were being manipulated or "told to do this, or do that" by politicians.
asserted
they → say → politicians
"Student anger comes from the ground up," says Lisa.
asserted
Lisa → come → ground
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
